


Soul Collisions

by Daemondog



Category: Original Work, Soul Collisions
Genre: Adventure, Angels, Demons, F/M, Fantasy, Magic, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 12:49:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20693798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daemondog/pseuds/Daemondog
Summary: A princess has a sudden meeting with a demon at an inopportune time. She'll put her faith in things she has no comprehension of for a chance to live her dream. But is it fate that draws them together or a twisted plan to lead the world to ruin?





	1. A Maiden's Wish

A frail white-haired woman sits curled up against the wall of a castle’s tower, her back pressed against the cold stone as she stares at the floor with blank eyes. The room is frigid, but she’s long since grown accustomed to it’s biting air. The only sound that caresses her ears being the whipping winds outside her chamber, thrashing and beating away at the castle’s outer walls. Her thoughts seem so blurry now, she can’t remember the face of the last person she saw anymore. Suddenly a new sound intrudes upon her thinking as the ground beneath and all around her shakes. She bolts up when the tremors cease, almost falling over from the woozy feeling that sets in as she makes her way over to the only window in the room. There isn’t much trouble in getting there since the room is rather barren, having been ransacked quite a long time ago.  
As she goes to pull open the hinged door it swings and nearly knocks her over with the force of the gusts pushing on it. Her chilled fingers hold tight to the snow-covered windowsill as the room fills with the wintry winds of the land outside. She squints through the painful gales, looking for any hope of what could have made that intriguing sound. Suddenly it rumbles again, once again almost knocking her back, which by the looks of the height that the chamber is at, would seem to be the better alternative. She listens closely, trying to hear over the force of the blustering gale, hearing a voice grunting out in the storm before the sound is drowned out by a fierce roar. Looking below her, she can see a disturbance in the snowy landscape, a large mass moving about in the great white tundra. With each disruption of the constant howling of the wind that she’s come to know, it seems to abate, almost submitting to the louder sound of whatever is occurring in the snow patch.

  
As the winds die down so does the snowfall, a clear view finally becoming possible. She pushes back the long hair that falls into her face, no longer kept back by the stormy gusts, looking down at the ensuing commotion. What she sees makes her heart skip a beat, she would shed a tear if not for the fact that it would freeze to her cheek. Below her stands a man in shining armor facing off against the mountainous icy beast which keeps her here. It roars and thrashes its tail, clearly enraged at his intrusion into its territory. The man does not falter though, brandishing his sharpened blade to the creature in a show of resistance. This angers it, causing the beast to charge forth with the intent to kill him. However, the man moves faster, shifting to the left at the last moment as he lets the creature’s momentum carry it into the blade he wields at his side. It raises up, shrieking in pain at having sustained more injuries, looking as to have gained some in the time she hadn’t seem them battling. While it is suffering the knight takes a hold of the opportune moment, charging forth with his sword and plunging it into the beast’s raised belly. It lets out one final roar before its voice trails off into a rumble, the snowy creature having finally taken its last breath. The sword is pulled from the beast’s hide as soon as the knight know it has been killed, resting his boot on the slain monster’s side in victory.

  
In an instant, stronger winds begin to blow, but they don’t seem to carry more snow with them. The woman covers her face as they whip around her before she opens them once more, squinting through the harsh rays that assault them. For the first time in her life since being imprisoned here, the sun is shining down upon her skin. The dam breaks inside as she cannot hold it in anymore, tears starting to well up to fall across her cheeks as she just stares up at that blue sky. No more clouds, no more snow. She holds her cheeks, able to feel the warmth of them as the bright star’s warmth heats her skin. Her moment of relief is broken however as she hears doors creaking along with the sound of heavy footsteps.

  
Whipping around, she runs of towards the door, opening it just in time to almost bump into the man who slayed the beast. She’s stunned and ashamed, the handsome man captivating her as she stands there in tattered clothes and frostbitten skin. She can’t even speak a word, too afraid to be pushed away by the first person she’s seen in so long. But she must repay they for their deed as she grasps their hand with her frail fingers, leaning down to kiss the gilded metal of its glove. As she is doing so however, they lean down in turn, kissing her pale cheek. She looks up in surprise, not expecting anything more than a farewell, but is greeted with a warm smile that melts away the last of the frost clinging to her form. With that, they gently guide her by their held hands, pulling her away from the dreary depths of the castle that she has been kept in to a life outside these frozen walls. She tries to smile in joy but can’t help sobbing quietly, she’s never been so happy.

  
Suddenly that world fades away as she feels a sharp pain in her scalp, “Ow!” she turns around on the stool she’s sitting upon, frowning at the servant girl brushing her hair, “Please, don't tug so hard.” They immediately bow to her, apologizing profusely, “I’m so sorry, Lady Mari, it won’t happen again.” They stay like that as she sighs, pulling her long pink locks around to check for damage. She’s more upset that they roused her from her wandering thoughts, but she can’t really fault them for messing up on their first day in the castle, especially since they can’t exactly touch her. Her eyes stray back to the servant as she finds that nothing is amiss in the roots of her luscious mane. “You are one of the new maids, aren’t you?” she asks, turning away to face the vanity mirror sitting on the table she’s at. They stay bowed but look up since she’s no longer looking down upon them, “Yes, Princess.” Her hands are busy behind her head, pulling back the wild hairs that want to stay unkempt, “Well if you want to make it up to me, there’s only one thing you can do.” They swallow nervously as they remain bowed still, “What is that, Miss?” They flinch as she turns towards them with her hands still behind her, but she only smiles down at them, “Please, just don’t tell them that I’m doing my own hair.”

  
They look up in confusion but all that meets them is a warm and patient smile, “Um,” they don’t know what to say. She giggles softly as one of her hands lowers to gesture for them to stand, “I’m sorry if that sounded sort of menacing, I don’t get to see many new faces around the castle.” She covers her mouth with the free hand as she giggles at their stunned expression. They just stare at her in awe before they remember their place and quickly jolt upright as she motioned for them to do. “I-it’s alright, Miss,” she stammers as she tries to compose herself in front of the giggling princess, she must look like such a fool. When she looks back at her however she seems to have already moved on to fixing her hair again, “I don’t get to do this often, so I hope you will keep it between us.” “Of course, Princess,” they reply swiftly, not wanting to make any more mistakes. Mari just smiles, happy to have control of some small part of her monotonous daily life. She reaches a hand back without looking as she gestures to a table on the opposite side of the room, “Could you hand me some of the ribbons on that table. The light blue ones if you would, please.” Her ears are quickly met with scattered thumps as she hears the young maid stumble behind her, she decides not to look back and just concentrate on the task at hand.

  
Just as quickly as they left though, the girl is back, placing the ribbons in her hand as fast as she can, “Just as you wished, Miss.” She ignores the incident and simply goes on to tie back the hair she’s gathered up in her other hand, “Yes, thank you.” She sits back and admires her handiwork, looking happily at her cute visage in the large mirror. Giving herself an internal pat on the back, she thinks she did a pretty good job considering she only learned from watching the other maids do it so much. Suddenly she twirls in the seat to her servant’s surprise as she enjoys the moment, before coming to rest facing the large mural that adorns most walls of the castle. Stopping, she sits there in silence and stares at the beautiful woman who is centered within it, the servant girl stands awkwardly and messes with her short brown hair as she does so. “Um, she was your mother, wasn’t she?” she finally says, unable to stand the intense quiet. “Yes,” she says softly, her eyes trained on the painting, “She was so pretty, don’t you think?” They immediately respond, “Yes, absolutely, Princess,” then their eyes go from the painting to her, the silence returning.

  
A sudden noise bursts forth though, breaking the room’s peace. A bustling group of maids busting into the room, startling both the maid girl and the princess this time. She’s quickly shooed out of the dressing room, but not before she looks back at the girl and smiles, “Oh, wait, I didn’t get your name.” They look at her blankly as they ask, “My name?” that didn’t seem like something she needs to really know. “Yes, your name,” she says with a frown and a bit more sternness in her voice, prompting them to respond immediately, “It’s Ani, my name is Ani.” The smile returns as soon as she answers, “I’ll make sure to remember it,” and with that last exchange she’s whisked out of the room to some other chamber of the castle, leaving the young girl confused.


	2. One Saving Grace

A bit of dust falls before being blown back up, the princess boredly trying to make it soar as high as she can. The room is filled with the arguing voices of the older servants debating about what should be printed on the banners at the upcoming ceremony. She could care less, and they could care even less about how much she cares. Not even asking for her opinion as she sits and blows at dust bunnies. As the dust molt flies higher, it joins the collection of specks floating about in the moonlight streaming through the barred window high above. What she wouldn’t give to see that view instead of the grey castle walls she’s gazed upon for her entire life. The tone of the room shifts however as all the servants suddenly bow, a deep voice booming though the hall, making Mari bolt upright in her seat, “Father!” The large man walks in adorned with his usual golden armour and dark blue cape, it looks just like what the kings would wear in the stories he would always read to her. “My dear Maria!” he laughs with a smile on his stubbed face, opening his arms wide to welcome his daughter as she runs up to him happily. Despite his kingly figure, the air about him is one of merriment that she always loves to be around. His gloved hand falls to rest under her chin, tilting her smiling face up to see him, “My, you’re as beautiful as your mother.” A blush fills her cheeks at her father’s praise, happy to see him while he isn’t busy. “And,” he quickly removes his hand from her chin, a faint cover of frost now upon his gloved fingers, “I trust that you are excited for the morning’s event.” Though she holds a smile on her face, she couldn’t be more upset about it. Her stomach churning at the mere mention of it, the thought having kept her awake for over a week in worry, “Uh, yeah.” He can clearly see through her ruse though as he lets out a short chuckle and holds a hand to his breastplate, “I know the Dawning Age ceremony can be a bit intimidating, dear. After all, I remember when your mother went through the same thing, poor girl could barely keep her footing on the altar.” He laughs merrily as he recounts the memories of his youth, leaving the girl to stand and watch as the servants hold onto the furniture around them to stay held up in their bowing positions, something that brings the attention of the princess. She decides to stop her father mid-laugh as she coughs awkwardly to draw his attention to the helps’ predicament. “Oh, of course,” he raises his hands to gesture for them to rise as they sigh in relief, Mari trying not to giggle as the king crosses his arm under his other and scratches his short black hair in embarrassment. Moments later one of the king’s personal guards walks in, bowing before whispering something to him. He nods in acknowledgement as he listens, "Really? A group that close by?" He thinks a moment as he strokes his chin before bidding his daughter farewell and exiting with them, “I will see you at the ceremony, dear. Try not to worry yourself sick over it.” Too late, the repeated mentioning of it causes her to feel queasy. It isn’t like the ceremony is dangerous or sickening in the way it plays out, but to stand in front of all the high society of the kingdom and give a speech, she can’t think of anything more horrifying.

  
Things are finally decided, but with so little time left before the event everyone is rushing around to get ready. The princess just goes along with being pulled around, used to being pushed from one location to another just for the sake of having her standing there to witness the events. She looks at herself in another mirror now, seeing her smile absent since the ceremony is close at hand. Her thoughts are momentarily interrupted again, gasping as the dress she’s put on is pulled together behind her. “Does it have to be so tight?” she asks, looking back at the maid tugging the strings. “I’m sorry, Miss, but we need you looking your best for the King’s associates today,” they say without looking at her, only tugging them more despite her protest. “Yes, of course, Father’s friends,” she says with obvious disdain for them, “I’ve never even met them before.” They suddenly pull her up by them as she squeaks in surprise, “That’s why you need to make a good first impression.” She just pouts as she stands there, acting grumpy as the servants around her make sure that everything is perfect for their guests. “But why is it glittery?” she says, looking down at the sparkly light blue dress she’s been forced to wear. “Because, you’re the star today, Maria, and your father wants you to shine like one,” she sighs as she pictures him saying that, gushing over his adorable little girl, “That definitely sounds like him…”

  
Soon, the princess is whisked away once more, but this time is different. As they walk down the hall they take a turn that she’s never gone down before, or been allowed to go down by herself that is. At the end, the large wooden doors are open to the gardens outside the castle. The grumpy disposition that she’s slowly been building falls away as she sees her exit to the outside world, not even needing to be coaxed towards it as she hurries along. And as she walks through it, she’s met with another set of doors. Her heart drops as she looks at the open carriage before her, “What?” she looks at it in disbelief, not able to see around the large vehicle despite her best efforts. “You’re ride to the ceremony, Lady Mari,” one of the oldest servants in the castle that’s been around since before she was born states as he stands beside it. “Thank you, Patrik. I can see that,” she says, more in a huff than before she was met with this dilemma. He sees her obvious concern and offers to help her up into the cart, but she waves him away with a hand, acting more like the royalty that she actually is. As she plops down into the cushioned seat, she’s met with four guards she doesn’t even know, quickly making her clam up. The jostling of the carriage as the horses start moving startles her before she gets used to it, never having been in an actual carriage many times before. The soldiers sit stoic, not making any motion that isn’t involuntarily caused by the vehicle. She glances at them quickly but says nothing as her eyes wander to the curtained window on the side of the carriage she sits.

  
Raising her hand to shift it aside, she’s met with another quickly grasping her wrist, making her squeak once more. “Please, do not open the curtains, Princess,” the guard in front of her says as he looks at her with concern. A look of shock on her face is quickly replaced by one of anger as she pulls her arm quickly from their grasp, flakes of ice falling from their parting touch, “Why is that?” Her shout clearly rattles him even as he keeps his stoic facade, “There may be those who wish to harm you watching the carriage, Miss. We can’t allow them to see their target in plain sight.” She lets out a scoff at that, not really in the mood for hypothetical situations, but she stays quiet after. The soldier bows a moment later, “I apologize for restricting your movement, Princess.” He clearly expects a punishment, but she merely waves her hand at him as she looks away towards the window again. Hesitantly he rises back up to a sitting position as she struggles to cross her leg over the other in the poufy dress she’s wearing. She chides herself for the outburst of anger she showed on someone who was just doing their duty. It isn’t like her to show that kind of behavior, the stress of the event must be getting to her more than she thought. She struggles to apologize to the knight for yelling before the cart comes to a sudden halt, throwing her forward and causing all the guards to reach out to catch her, but she holds onto the windowsill to do so herself.

  
Grimacing as she rubs her nose, a dull pain in it from where she just hit it on the side of the carriage, she steps out from the cart. Looking up a moment later and immediately forgetting of her minor troubles, a large and sacred structure rests in front of her. Guessing that it’s the cathedral, she looks up in amazement at just the architecture of the outside of the old building. It has tall spires like the castle, but is only a fraction of the size. Around her is a well-maintained courtyard, small statues of angels scattered throughout it. A dull bronze bell hangs in the belfry atop the center building, ancient symbols carved into it from long ago. Excitement fills her at how the inside must look as she picks up her dress and hurries inside, prompting the guards to follow just as fast in a funny looking jog.

  
Just as she suspected, the inside is even more stunning. Huge columns support the high roof of the building as statues of both royal and holy figures line the sides of the basilica, watching over the members of the clergy and all who enter. As she passes them, she only stares up at the large and imposing figures, wondering who they are in relation to the faith. She nearly stumbles over her own dress as she comes to step in front of a very well-dressed woman. “I am so sorry,” she immediately apologizes as she bows before realizing that they aren’t a member of the church. “It is alright, Mari. After all, it is your big day,” she recognizes the voice, it’s one of the associates that she was told would be here for the ceremony. “Mmhm,” she hated that people kept reminding her, it only made her feel worse. “Your mother was so elegant when she had her ceremony,” that isn’t what she remembers being told, but she doesn’t bother to correct her. “I know that you’ll be just as dazzling.” She notices that their face is caked in makeup as most of the upper-class residents do, she never saw the appeal in it, and thankfully neither did her father. “Thank you, Miss Mayweather,” she says, just wanting to move on from the conversation. “I’ll be seeing you, Mari,” they smile as she waves until they’re far enough away, letting out a sigh of relief after. How is she supposed to do that in front of so many more people?

  
She isn’t left with her thoughts for long though as members of the faith come up to her all at once, their bodies covered in white cloaks startling her for a moment. “Princess, please follow us,” one says, she nods on impulse and does as they ask. Walking past the aisles that are slowly filling with people all wearing fancy clothes and neat hairstyles. She rests a hand on her stomach, if only to try and calm her nausea as they lead her to the very font of the huge room. When they reach the end, she’s shown a small room off to the side that the preacher would often use to get ready for his sermons. Leaving her there to prepare as she once again waves with a small smile at their departure. Though when they’re gone her face falls back to a frown. She tries to calm herself down in the small moment. She’s practiced her words ever since she was told of the ceremony after all, she can do this. But what if she messes up? what if she does something wrong? The thoughts creep in as she takes slow breaths. She inhales sharply on accident as she’s told to come to the altar sooner than she thought.

  
Trying not to tremble too much, she makes her way slowly to the steps on the altar’s side. Not daring to look to her left at the rows of people all staring directly at her. She almost jumps as the organ starts to play, music slowly filling the building as voices of the choir harmonize with it. She closes her eyes a brief moment as she listens only to them, blocking out everything else as she finally steps up to the podium. When she opens them however, her body freezes immediately. The aisles are filled with people all watching her, she doubts they could fit another person in the room and still look organized. Her mouth opens but nothing comes out, she searches the crowd for her father but there are so many people that she doesn’t have the time to comb through all of them. As the music dies down and the rooms grows quiet again, she’s left standing there in awkward silence. “I…” she finally squeaks out, the small noise startling herself as it echoes of the high walls. She’s taken too long, some in the crowd starting to murmur as she stands stiff. “I…” she says, repeating herself as she looks past them, trying to distract her mind. Her eyes coming to rest on the shining light behind them, cast from the dawning sun streaming through the stained-glass window above her.

  
In its glow she sees a shape, at first it almost looks like that of a bird’s shadow. Making her think that one might have landed on its sill. It seems to grow larger however, perhaps a trick of the increasing light from the sunrise. As she squints a bit, it starts to roughly look like an angel to her. She takes that as a sign in this bleak moment. Smiling softly as it serves to encourage her, and opens her mouth to speak properly. But another noise cuts in just as she goes to talk. The shadow above quickly growing as she looks up to see what it is. The window’s glass breaking over her as a figure breaks through it with a shout.

  
The princess cries out as she covers her head, glass falling from the stained window to shatter around her. The figure tumbling down between the front of the aisles as it hits the ground. Voices of shock and concern are mumbled between each other as the guards lining the walls quickly move to check on the princess and figure out what’s happening. Maria assures them that she’s fine, the glass either getting caught in her hair or ripping holes in her large dress. She’s more concerned with what that was, the guards fussing over her as she looks over to see the cause.

  
In the beams that the now broken window let fall onto the floor, a young man sits, groaning as he rubs his head. “I really thought I could stick that landing,” he lets out a pained chuckle as he stands up and dusts off the shards of glass on his clothes. Maria stares at him, having never seen someone like him before. His hand scratches his pitch-black hair, picking out a few loose glass pieces as he frowns. His clothes are baggy on his tall frame, a jacket covering them which he promptly pulls more glass out of. The thing that captures her attention the most however is his face, ruby red eyes and a mouth grinning with sharp teeth. Scars cutting across his chin, cheeks, and nose. He stretches himself out as he rises before smiling, “Alright, let’s get this over-.” He suddenly realizes he’s not alone, looking around to find that the building is entirely filled with people, “Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got to keep the ball rolling with more chapters. The adventure hasn't even started yet after all.


	3. Moment of Frost

His smile fades as he’s immediately surrounded by armed guards, their spears all pointed at his head as the captain steps forward. “How dare you interrupt a ceremony as sacred as the Dawning Age,” he says as he draws his sword. “Listen, buddy. I didn’t even know about this thing,” he says casually. Just standing there calmly as if this weren’t the first time this has happened to him. As the guards watch him closely, one of them whispers something under their breath that Maria can’t hear. Whatever it is, it seems to put the rest of them more on edge. Making the guards take a step back and train their gazes on him more. He only sighs and watches them. “Silence, as if we would believe the words that come from the mouth of a demon,” the captain shouts. “A demon?” she had heard of them before in tales from long ago and bits she heard her father speak of, but had never seen one herself. Did they really just look like ordinary people? That’s all he seems to be to her. The circle of guards all shift themselves as the boy raises his arm, pushing one of the spears out of his face with a finger. “Hey, if you’re looking for a demon, I know a few that’ll be here real soon,” the guard captain remains stern as he raises his blade, “Is that a threat against us?” they ask. He shrugs, “Nah, it’s more of a warning,” a rumbling noise seems to resound against the cathedral walls as he finishes speaking. Everyone in the room goes dead quiet as the sound grows louder. The guardsmen looking around in panic as the boy just stands there and watches silently. “Is this your doing?” the captain asks in panic as he stares up at the shaking ceiling. He just throws up his hand to gesture behind himself with his thumb as he doesn’t even bother answering, “You may wanna get back.”

The guards beside the princess usher her back behind the podium. The light fading from the windows as the soldiers surrounding the boy turn their spears to point at the opening in the broken one. Moving to stand behind him as suggested, if only to brace themselves for whatever is coming. He stands his ground, staring up at the growing shadow in defiance as the sounds of shrieking quickly join the rumbling all around them. Everything is calm inside before a cloud of dark winged creatures swarm in through the gaping hole, flying around near the ceiling as they funnel in. The people around him cry out in terror as the horrid winged beasts shriek and claw at the statues surrounding the hall, not yet noticing the people below. The guards raise their spears to the ceiling, readying themselves for the oncoming assault. As they turn their attention away from the young man, he takes his chance and sprints for the altar. Mari watches as he jumps from in front of the podium back to where she is. Before the guards surrounding her even unsheathe their swords, he’s knocked them aside, his arm slipping around the awestruck royal, “I’m just gonna borrow this.” “Wait-,” she tries to stop him as he grabs her, but he doesn’t recoil in pain. That fact alone shocks her enough for him to sweep her up onto the altar in the ensuing panic.

As he dips her down, she’s knocked out of her spell by the events unfolding. Her attention brought to her left where the people around her are panicking. “Hey,” she turns her head back to see him looking down at her with a smile “just relax and focus on your heart,” she can only stare up at him as she feels it pound. “I-,” her breath is taken away as he leans down and presses his lips to hers. The action shocking her so much she can’t even react. This is the first time she’s touched another person for as long as she can remember. Let alone in this way. He’s so warm. She reaches up to hold onto him, lost in the moment and not wanting it to end, but it does. He quickly breaks the kiss and spins her away to face the crowd, “Better take cover.”

The pounding in her chest that she feels starts to grow stronger. She holds her hands against it as she winces, not knowing what’s going on. It echoes in her ears as she feels strangely relieved. Her mind races but all she can think about is what just happened. His words come to mind as she breathes deep and calms herself once more, her body feeling light. She looks up as the swarm of creatures notices her and starts to fly closer, but she stands still and watches. A bright blue light suddenly blinding her before everything grows quiet. When she opens her eyes, everything is covered in brilliant blue flames, her chest feeling still again. Not even a moment later the fire solidifies, leaving the building encrusted in jagged ice. “What…” she says out loud in wonder as all the people who were panicking slowly rise up from behind the aisles, looking around at the frost covered seats. Hanging from the ceiling is a makeshift chandelier of pointed ice. When she looks closer, she can see the figures of the creatures trapped in the frozen flame.

“Nice work, kid,” a voice breaks the silence, making her turn her head to see the boy hop down from behind a statue. “That was pretty good for your first time,” he grins as he steps up to her nonchalantly. She just looks down as she blushes faintly, her chest beating fast again, “Um, thank you,” she says, not knowing what he means. He frowns and leans down on her level, “Don’t just go along with what I’m saying. It’s annoying.” She’s shocked by his brazenness and only nods as she looks at his eyes. A grin splits back across his face a second later though, “Relax, I’m just messing with you.” She really can’t tell if he is or not, and the expression on her face clearly shows it as he starts to laugh. She looks down at her hands as specks of frost cover them before she whips her head up to look at him, “Wait, first time for what?” He stops his laughing fit to turn and look at her blankly, “Your magic.” The distance between them is quickly overstepped as her face brightens, “I have magic?” “Yeah,” he says cocking an eyebrow and pushing her away a bit, “Pretty much everyone does. If you have a soul, you have magic.” His words cause her to feel a bit less special in that regard, but she still beams at the thought of being a magical princess like in her story books. The distance between them grows further though as she’s pulled back and he’s once again surrounded by the group of guards. “Hey!” she yells as she’s pushed aside so that she’s no longer close to the boy. “How dare you lay your dirty hands on the princess,” the head of the guards states as the boy sighs at having sharp objects shoved in his face again. “It worked didn’t it?” he remarks as he glances up at the hanging ice, smirking a bit at the way it turned out. “That doesn’t excuse everything that you’ve done here,” they say as they keep their weapon drawn, “Bringing those beasts upon us and disrupting the ceremony of the royal family.” The young man shrugs, prompting more yelling from the captain as Mari tries to fight her way back through the guards, “Hey, let me through.” They only hold her back, not wanting her to be caught up in what’s happening, “Princess, please stay back for your own safety.” She grabs at them to pull herself through, “I don’t care about that.” Her words trail off though as she realizes the guards no longer notice her touch. She looks at her hands again before touching one on the arm, they don’t respond as they keep an eye on the intruder. She just looks at her hands again in awe, the frost gone now, before looking back up as her father steps up onto the altar.

“What is going on here?” he questions as he marches up to the group, looking quite stern. Having just arrived to the confusing scene. The guards go to answer but are cut off by Mari, who starts to run towards the king, “Father!” He steps back in hesitation before she latches onto him, “Maria, what are you doing?” She presses her cheek against his chest as tears well up in on the edges of her eyes, “Father.” The king looks down in surprise as the guards and the boy glance over at them in confusion. Her father’s arms slowly wrap around her, hugging his petite daughter tightly, “The cold is gone.” Tears start to bead at the corners of his eyes as well as the guards stand in silence. The few people in the aisles that haven’t left let out quiet whispers as they watch the touching moment. The boy stands there for a while, just watching as he feels kind of uncomfortable that everyone is stopping to watch them hug. After a minute though the king turns to look at him, “How did you do it? I’ve consulted so many over how to disperse this curse on my daughter.” The boy seems to share in his confusion as he wonders what he’s talking about. It shows on his face, prompting the king to explain. “Ever since my daughter was a child, she’s never been able to touch others,” she holds herself to him as he speaks, not wanting to let go. “Whenever she would do so, the cold touch of her skin would freeze theirs on contact,” he gestures to the soldiers around him, “I even had all my guards and staff wear padded clothing for when they escorted her.” “Oh,” the boy says as he looks between the princess and the king, “Yeah, the curse, of course” He shakes his head as he composes himself, “I don’t know really, just tried something.” The king looks at him in thought for a moment before he smiles a bit, “Well, regardless of method, I thank you for helping us.” He moves to bow as the guard captain tries to interject, “But, your majesty-“ The boy cuts in as he completely ignores the guards, “It was nothing. Just needed something to get rid of those annoying bats,” he smiles a moment before the captain butts in again. “My lord, this vagrant brought those filthy creatures here and disrupted the holy rite!” they shout as they motion towards the disinterested lad, “He should be punished for his crimes, not commended.” The king’s face becomes colder along with his tone as he stands back upright, “You would deign to chasten my daughter’s savior? The princess of this land.” The captain seems perturbed but stands with his statements, “As the captain of the guard, I do.” Their eyes stay locked for a hard moment before the king turns to the boy again, “Young man, what is your name?" he asks politely. "Cinder," they state flatly, not showing much in the way of pleasantries. “What an interesting name,” he remarks, "And why have you come here?” They scratch their wild hair some as they think, “Just entered the kingdom really. Guess I was heading to get a pass or something foe moving through.” The royal smiles a bit as he continues to question him, “And what were you doing with those beasts?” Cinder start to grin back as he answers, “I saw them nearby. Thought the best thing to do was lead them somewhere they could get trapped and wiped out all at once. Never thought the whole kingdom would be attending service.” The jovial king turns to smile at his guard, “See, just a simple mistake. No harm done.” The boy smiles with him as the captain maintains his frown. “What of the assault of the princess?” he asks as he motions to her. She’s been quietly listening as she leans out from behind her father. “Maria?” he questions in thought. Not having been around to witness this alleged assault. As he moves to the side she’s put out in the open once more, “Do you feel the boy should be punished?” She looks over at Cinder in deep thought, so many things swirling through her head at the moment. He looks at her with concern for a moment, seemingly thinking deeply about something too before he flashes a grin at her. Her decision is immediate, “No. I don’t.” After, she steps back behind her father again, but he’s too busy smiling happily to notice. “Fine, then it’s all decided!” he turns to the boy who stops dead in his tracks, seemingly having gone to step away from the group as soon as the questions stopped. “This is a time of celebration. Since the ceremony has been interrupted, it shall be postponed for the cathedral’s repair,” he states as flakes off ice fall from the frozen ceiling. “But that doesn’t mean the festivities must end. The festival shall proceed as planned. With our new guest as the man of honor,” the hunched over boy turns some, letting them see his grimace at the mention of a party. “Guards, start the repairs immediately after the celebration has ended,” the whole group of guards turn to show their own discontent, leaving the king to look at all the unhappy faces in bafflement. “Um…Maria!” he turns to his daughter who squeaks at the sudden mention. “Why don’t you guide our guest to the castle!” he quickly changes the subject to shift the focus. “O-okay,” she looks over at Cinder as he continues to grimace, clearly unenthused with this turn of events. “Come, I insist!” the king moves to push them towards the cathedral’s entrance, shards of glass and ice falling behind them in the ruined pews. “Sounds great…” Cinder remarks as he’s prodded into the same carriage as Mari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a scamp.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter of a long story. Definitely need feedback since I haven't discussed this much with many people. Hopefully someone gets some joy out of reading it though. These characters are close to my heart.


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